Survivors of Jewish sites shooting victims plan remembrance

Overland Park  The families of three people who were shot to death last year outside two Jewish sites in Kansas are planning a week of events that they hope will honor the victims, bring healing and promote appreciation for diversity.

The week of events, called "SevenDays: Make a Ripple, Change the World," will be April 7-13, marking the one-year anniversary of the deaths.

William Corporan, 69, and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Underwood, died last April 13 in a shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park. Terri LaManno, 53, who was shot to death at nearby Village Shalom retirement home.

A judge recently ruled that suspected shooter, Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., a 74-year-old white supremacist, will stand trial for capital murder, The Kansas City Star reported. Miller said he hoped to kill Jews, but no one who died was.

"When our family members were killed, we were enveloped by our community with huge hugs and lots of love," said Mindy Corporon, whose father and son died. "We want to give that love back and make it go further to show other communities and the rest of the world what our community looks like."

The families will join with two foundations — Racial and Religious Acceptance and Cultural Equality, and Faith Always Wins — to organize the week of activities. Each day of the week will have a theme related to love, faith, kindness and remembrance, and will also challenge people to embrace diversity in races, religions and cultures.

LaManno's husband, Jim, said he hopes "random acts of kindness will overcome random acts of hate. To turn one ripple of kindness into an unstoppable wave of faith and love."

The week includes a songwriting contest for those between 14 to 21 years old, and speeches by Jacqueline Murekatete, a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and Sonia Grynsztejn Warshawski, a Holocaust survivor. A main event will be the Peace Walk at 5:45 p.m. April 13.